Dispenser for tear gas and the like



Feb. 22, 1966 N. A. BUSILLO 3,235,992

DISPENSER FOR TEAR GAS AND THE LIKE Filed May 22, 1964 INVENTOR NICHOLA.5 A. QUS/LLO "gram? ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,235,992 DISPENSERFOR TEAR GAS AND THE LIKE Nicholas A. Busillo, 1023 N. 67th St.,Philadelphia, Pa.

7 Filed May 22, 1964, Ser. No. 369,449

1 Claim. (Cl. 421) This invention relates to dispensers for tear gas,flares and the like and more particularly to improved portabledispensers of this type.

Various portable dispensers for tear gas and the .like have heretoforebeen proposed and in which replaceable charge containers or cartridgeswere employed, but these had' various shortcomings. One prior dispenserwas heavy and had openings to the interior through which foreign objectscould enter, particularly if the dispenser was carried in a womanshandbag. Such objects interfered with the subsequent operation andprevented activation of the charge container or cartridge.

Other portable dispensers for tear gas and the like had receptacles orbores into which a powder loaded lead bullet cartridge could be insertedand fired. This was not only hazardous to the user but also placed inthe hands of vicious persons a weapon far removed in intent from thenormal defensive function of a portable tear gas dispenser.

It isthe principal object of the present invention to provide animproved dispenser for tear gas and the like which is free from theobjectionable features of prior dispensers for this purpose.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a dispenserfor tear gas and the like in which the internal mechanism is guardedagainst the entry of objects which would interfere with the normaloperation thereof.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a dispenserfor tear gas and the like which is light in weight and has improvedoperating mechanism.

Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will beapparent from the description and claim.

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be morereadily understood from the following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings forming part thereof, in which;

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a dispenser in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, enlarged, taken approximatelyon the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view still further enlarged, takenapproximately on the line 33 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of the guard tube removed from thedispenser.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawingsherein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications andchanges can be made in the structure disclosed without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

Like numerals refer to like views.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings the dispenser inaccordance with the invention preferably includes an outer tubularbarrel 10, which may be made of steel but is preferably made of aluminumalloy. The barrel at one end has an internally threaded portion 11 forthe reception of a charge container or cartridge 12 having a threadedportion 13 removably engaged with the threaded portion 11.

The charge carrier or cartridge 12 is of known type and includes a body14 having a hollow charge containing bore 15 with a closure 16 at oneend and a percussion cap 17 at the other end for effecting rupture ofthe closure 16 and ejection of the contents of the bore 15. The

parts throughout the several Patented Feb. 22, 1966 charge 18 in thebore 15 can be of any desired type such as a powder which when ejectedacts as tear. gas, a.

. portion 22 and a cylindrical portion 23 for purposes to-be explained.

The opposite end of the barrel 10 from that in which the chargecontainer or cartridge 12 is located has a closure plug 25 in threadedengagement with the barrel 10 at 26. The closure plug 25 can retain aresilient clip 27 in position for carrying the dispenser in a garmentpocket like a fountain pen or mechanical pencil.

The closure plug 25 has an inner end face 28 with a central aligning pin29 extending therefrom. In the interior of the barrel 10 and in loosesliding engagement therein a guard sleeve 30 is provided having alongitudinal slot 31. A helical compression spring 32 engaging the face28 bears against one end of the sleeve 30 and urges it toward the chargecontainer or cartridge 12.

Within the interior of the sleeve 30 and freely slidable with respectthereto is an actuating rod 33. The rod 33 has an activating end pin 34with a frustoconical stop shoulder 35, the end pin 34 being of a lengthto extend through the cylindrical opening 23 and activate the percussion cap 17 when the shoulder 35 engages and is held by the end ofthe opening portion 22.

The rod 33 at one end thereof has a helical compression spring 36 inengagement therewith, the other end of the spring 36 engaging theclosure plug face 28. The aligning pin 29 aids in retaining the springs32 and 36 in place when they are partially relieved.

In order to control the positioning of the actuating rod 33 a manualoperating pin 38 is provided having a head 39. The pin 38 extendsthrough the slot 31. The barrel 10 also has a slot 40 therein having aportion with widely spaced parallel sides 41 and 42, a short forwardextension 43 for holding the pin 38 at an inactive position, a longforward extension 44 for permitting discharge movement of the pin 38 sothat the actuating rod 33 advances its end pin 34 to activate the chargecontainer or cartridge 12. The extensions 43 and 44 have a wedge shapedwall 45 therebetween with a rounded rear edge 46. The wide spacing ofthe sides 41 and 42 avoids any locations which would tend to catch orrestrain the pin 38 in any movement from its inactive to its activatingposition.

The mode of use will now be pointed out.

The manual operating pin 38 is positioned in the short forward slotextension 43 and in this position holds the actuating rod 33 and the endpin 34 thereof in inactive position, against the force of the spring 36.The guard sleeve 30 is also held by the spring 32 so that it closes theslot 40 including the portion between the slot sides 41 and 42 and theforward extensions 43 and 44. Entry of foreign objects into the interiorof the barrel 10 is thus prevented while the dispenser is in itsinactive condition.

If now it is desired to discharge the contents of the charge carrier orcartridge 12, with the barrel 10 held in one hand by the user and withthe charge carrier or cartridge 12 faced in the desired direction, themanual operating pin 38 is drawn against the force of the springs 32 and36 rearwardly from its seat, in the short forward extension 43, movedaround the edge 46 of the wedge wall 45, and permitted to be drivenforwardly by the spring 36 aided in part by the spring 32.

Upon forward movement of the actuating rod 33 the end in 34 movesthrough the opening 23, strikes the percussion cap 17 and effectsdischarge of the charge 18 from the bore 15.

The discharged carrier or charge cartridge 12 is removed, the operatingpin 38 manually repositioned at its inactive position in the forwardextension 43 and a new charge carrier or cartridge 12 is inserted.

The guard sleeve 30, in addition to preventing the entry of foreignobjects into the interior of the barrel 10 while the same is beingcarried, also obviates the likelihood of the thumb being pinched by theoperating pin 38 in its movement.

It will thus be seen that a dispenser has been provided which isparticularly suited for carrying out the objects of the invention.

I claim:

A dispenser comprising a barrel having one end for the reception of acharge carrier, a closure at the other end of said barrel, a stop memberinwardly at said one end, an actuating rod in said barrel having a pinmovable beyond said stop member for activation of the charge carrier, aresilient member in said barrel urging said actuating rod to chargecarrier activating position, said barrel having a control slot, a manualoperating pin connected to said actuating rod and extending through saidcontrol slot and having a manually accessible portion exteriorlydisposed with respect to said barrel, said slot having a forwardextension for engagement by said manual operating pin in an inactiveposition and another forward extension for movement of said manualoperating pin and the actuating rod connected thereto to a chargecarrier activating position, and a sleeve mounted for movementlongitudinally along said barrel, said sleeve extending longitudinallybeyond said slot in continuous closing relation to said slot, saidsleeve being interiorly disposed in said barrel, and said actuating rodbeing interiorly disposed in said sleeve in movable relation thereto,said sleeve having a resilient member in said barrel in engagementtherewith, and said sleeve having an elongated slot through which saidmanual operating pin extends.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,897,992 2/1933Ailes 42--1.7 2,757,474 8/1956 Williams 421.7 3,044,360 7/1964 Stefan otal. 42l.4

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

